Smothered Chicken

Smothered Chicken, a delicious homemade meal of fall off the bone tender chicken in gravy. We love our fried foods in the South and we love gravy too. Marrying these two into a dish is surely something special. Just imagine how a piece or two of this smothered chicken served on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes or fluffy rice will be……AMAZING! Best of all, it’s a simple recipe and most of the work is done in the oven.

Although smothered chicken is a classic dish, there are many variations. That’s true of just about every dish these days. The basic concept remains consistent with everyone. My version has a gravy made from the pan drippings, onions and mushrooms. Your home will smell heavenly while it cooks too. While I prefer baking this in the oven, you can cook it in your slow cooker. I’ll make a note on cooking times for both.

Okay, let’s get started on this chicken….

Smothered (stewed) Chicken

Ingredients

3 lbs Mixed Chicken Pieces 🐔

1 c Buttermilk

3/4 c Vegetable Oil

Dredge Mixture:

1.5 c All Purpose Flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Poultry Seasoning

1/4 tsp Dried Thyme

Gravy:

3/4 c Button Mushrooms, stems removed & sliced

1 Onion, sliced and rough chopped (large pieces are okay for this dish)

1/2 c Reserved Dredge Mixture

4 c Chicken Stock

Place chicken pieces into a large mixing bowl with one cup of buttermilk. Toss to coat all of the chicken with the buttermilk. Place into the refrigerator for one hour.

You can use a whole chicken cut up into pieces for this dish. My personal preference is to use skinless drumsticks and thighs. The dark meat adds a bit of richness to the dish and don’t dry out like breast do when cooked for a while.

After the chicken has been hanging out in the buttermilk bath, we’re ready to get cooking!

Prepare the dredge mixture to a large mixing bowl by combining the flour and seasoning together. For this particular dish, I do not do the standard – dry, wet, dry – dredge. You don’t need an extra crispy fried chicken for smothered chicken. You just want it to have a coating to hold onto the gravy. The brown bits left in the skillet also add lots of flavor to the gravy preparations.

Take each piece of buttermilk coated chicken and add it to the bowl with the dredge mixture. Toss to coat. Shake off any excess flour and set aside for frying. Be sure to reserve the leftover dredge mixture. We are going to use that in the gravy and it’s already seasoned beautifully.

Preheat oven to 350℉

Add vegetable oil to a large cast iron or metal skillet and warm over medium heat. When the oil is hot for frying add the dredged chicken pieces. You may have to cook the chicken in batches so each piece has plenty of room for browning.

Cook each piece of chicken about four minutes per side until the coating is nicely browned. The chicken does not have to be cooked through at this point. It will finish cooking in the oven. Once browned remove the chicken pieces and place into a large casserole dish.

Add the onions and mushrooms to the skillet and saute for three minutes to soften.

Sprinkle in the reserved dredge mixture and toss to coat with the vegetables and remaining cooking oil. Cook four to five minutes.

Add chicken stock to the skillet and stir to combine with the vegetables. Be sure to scrape any brown bits from the chicken off the bottom of the skillet. I had to pull out my wire whisk for this. Continue to cook until the gravy thickens.

Pour the gravy over the chicken in the casserole dish.

Cover with foil and place the casserole dish into the oven. Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours.

If cooking in a slow cooker: Follow all steps but place chicken pieces into the slow cooker and add gravy. Cook on high for four hours. Be gentle removing the chicken pieces from the cooking dish. They will be very tender and the meat will fall off the bone if not careful. Serve hot.

1 Onion, sliced and rough chopped (large pieces are okay for this dish)

1/2 c Reserved Dredge Mixture

4 c Chicken Stock

Instructions

1

Place chicken pieces into a large mixing bowl with one cup of buttermilk. Toss to coat all of the chicken with the buttermilk. Place into the refrigerator for one hour.

2

Prepare the dredge mixture to a large mixing bowl by combining the flour and seasoning together. For this particular dish, I do not do the standard - dry, wet, dry - dredge. You don't need an extra crispy fried chicken for smothered chicken. You just want it to have a coating to hold onto the gravy. The brown bits left in the skillet also add lots of flavor to the gravy preparations.

3

Take each piece of buttermilk coated chicken and add it to the bowl with the dredge mixture. Toss to coat. Shake off any excess flour and set aside for frying. Be sure to reserve the leftover dredge mixture. We are going to use that in the gravy and it's already seasoned beautifully.

4

Preheat oven to 350℉

5

Add vegetable oil to a large cast iron or metal skillet and warm over medium heat. When the oil is hot for frying add the dredged chicken pieces. You may have to cook the chicken in batches so each piece has plenty of room for browning.

6

Cook each piece of chicken about four minutes per side until the coating is nicely browned. The chicken does not have to be cooked through at this point. It will finish cooking in the oven. Once browned remove the chicken pieces and place into a large casserole dish.

7

Add the onions and mushrooms to the skillet and saute for three minutes to soften.

8

Sprinkle in the reserved dredge mixture and toss to coat with the vegetables and remaining cooking oil. Cook four to five minutes.

9

Add chicken stock to the skillet and stir to combine with the vegetables. Be sure to scrape any brown bits from the chicken off the bottom of the skillet. I had to pull out my wire whisk for this. Continue to cook until the gravy thickens.

10

Pour the gravy over the chicken in the casserole dish.

11

Cover with foil and place the casserole dish into the oven. Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Hi Julia,Smothered Chicken such a great southern classic that we just love. I will have to try your recipe it looks delicious. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and you have a great weekend!Come Back SoonMiz Helen